Luminous indicator for electrical apparatus



Sept. 27, 1932. l. E. COFFEY 1,879,093

I LUMINOUS INDICATOR FQR ELECTRICAL APPARATUS Filed Feb. 15, 1951 SSheets-Sheet 1.

Sept. 27, 1932 E. COFFEY 1,879,098 LUMINOUS INDICATOR FOIR ELECTRICALAPPARATUS I v Filed Feb. 13, 1931 I 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mag-72 Sept. 27, 1932. E'. COFFEY' 1,879,098

LUMI [NOUS INDICATOR FOR ELECTRICAL APPARATUS I Fil ed Feb. 15, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 P 27, 1932. .1. E. COFFEY 1,879,098

LUMINOUS INDICATOR FOR ELECTRICAL APPARATUS Filed Feb. 13, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Sept. 27,' 1932 UNITED STATES mm E. COFFEY, OF SAN'IA- ANA, CALIFORNIA LUMINOUS iNDICATOB FOB ELECTRICAL APPARATUS Application filed February 13, 1931. Serial No. 515,550.

My invention relates to a luminous indicator for electrical apparatus.

In dili'erent types of electrical apparatus lights of different colors may be utilized in certain circuits and in certain combinations in which in various electrical conditions of parts of these apparatus such as, for instance,

an increased resistance, a reversal of polarity,

or an open circuit, the colors of the lights will change and, therefore, to an observer who knows the various combinations of colors resulting from certain changes, he may readily and quickly determine approximately what the particular trouble is from a normal operation of the apparatus or, device.

An object of my invention is the design and construction of a device usinglights of different colors with suitable electrical connection to operate these lights so that under difi'erent electrical conditions such as may arise from changesof resistance, changes of polarity, or open circuits, the illumination value of one or more of the series of lights will be changed andthus an observer, by noting the various colors, may determine approximately where the source of trouble is from the normal operation of any particular electric circuit and then be in a position, if desired, to make more complete electrical tests and to rectify the trouble.

I have found that different colors may be caused to merge together, such colors being developed by either single lamps for each color or a plurality of lamps for each color, and, therefore, instead of the observer being required to note a number of individual changes in color he can judge by the merged or resulting colors and, therefore, determine approximatelya normal condition of operation of an electrical apparatus or conditions in which such apparatus or parts thereof are not operating in a normalmanner.

In'the use of various colors I find it of advantage to make use of the phenomena by which an electric lamp bulb when litby a current of low value emits light which principally has the long wave lengths, such as the deep red, and in which very little of the short wave lengths of light, such as the blue and violet, are emitted, but when the illuminatingcurrent through the lamp filament is increased this filament becomes a brighter color, and as the intensity of illumination increases, the value of the shorter wave. lengths increases much more rapidly in proportion than those of the longer wave lengths, thus causin the blues and the violets to have a great er illuminating'factor. Hence,

if an incandescent filament is viewed directly under a low condition of illumination the so filament Will have a red glow and on increasing this the red color will increase in brightness; this will then change to a white glow, and at full illumination the filament will be a brilliant incandescent white, which color, if analyzed, by a spectroscope will show a large relative proportion of the blues and vio1ets.-

I also make use of the phenomena of the absorption and transmission of colors by glasses of difiZ'erent colors. For instance, ifan electric lamp filament is enclosed in a clear glass bulb and a red glass is placed between the filament'and the observer the red glass absorbs the yellows, blues, and violets, and will transmit only the red'colors, these being of difl'erent intensities in accordance with the intensity of the illumination of the filament. Again, I make use of the same type of lamp; that is: the filament enclosed in a clear bulb and witha blue glass between this bulb and the observer. Then, in this case, as the blue glass only transmits blue light and absorbs the orange and red colors, therefore, at low conditions of illumination through the blue glass substantially no light is transmitted, but as the intensity of illumination increases the blues and violets materially increase and the blue colors will be transmitted through the blue glass, and at the full or very intense illumination a brilliant blue will .be transmitted. It is obvious that, if desired, the glass or the bulbs may be made of these different colors. It is to be understood that I choose red and blue for the sake of convenience-and for the contrast.

I have also ascertained that the red and the blue lights may be merged together and the resultant light may be viewed by an observer. Then, under conditions in which 100 there is a low illumination of the filament the red light will be a deep red and will be practically only transmitted from t red source, the blue source having substan' ially no red and there being no .blue emitted. This will 1f Therefore, the combination of the blue and the red will produce a still different shade depending on the relative illumination. In different conditions of the electric circuits the red light may have a low degree of illumination and the blues have an intense illumination, causing a predominance of the blues, giving a mauve or socalled violet color.

It will thus be seen that if the relative illuminations of the blues and the reds are changed very many changes of resultant col ors may be obtained, and by an observers learning these different combinations of color, he may determine the normal operation of certain electrical devices, or when certain elements in the electrical circuits are operating out of the normal conditions.

One of the main objects, therefore, of my invention is the development of a simple construction by which the resultant combination of colors may be observed, and as a practical application of my invention I have developed adevice particularly adapted for testing teries.

storage batteries without and with a load to determine the characteristics of such bat Presuming the device is made for testing three cell batteries, I utilize three red lights and three blue lights, there being a blue and a red for each cell. The lights for each cell are directed in certain paths and the lights from the different cells are prevented from mingling by the use of opaque partitions and the red and the blue lights for each cell are caused to merge and the merged or combination color for each cell observable by the observer. Thus the observer for a three cell battery will see three different spots of light.

The circuits are preferably arranged so that the three red and the three blue lights are each set in series and the two sets are in parallel between the positive and negative terminals of the battery. In addition,'there are connecting leads between the bluelamps and the terminals of the center -cell, thus placing a blue lamp in a direct circuit with each of.

the individual cells of the battery.

In order to afford a simple manner of making a connection, I have a special connecting device which for a three cell battery only requires four wires carried to the observing ina suitable type of connector for use with a storage battery;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the instrument taken on the line 11 of Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3'3 of Fig. 2'in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 -5 of Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows;

Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 are various diagrams illustrating the electrical connections from a storage battery to my luminous indicator and also lndicatmg various changes from the normal condition of the battery, or

of the battery with the applied load.

Figs. 12 and 13 are diagrams showing a three color lamp system.

Referring to the construction of the luminous indicator 11 in detail to obtain a compact arrangement I employ a casing or housing 12 which is preferably made somewhat triangular in cross section,,.having a base 13, a top wall 14, a curved end wall 15, these being joined at the corners; and on the base there is secured a handle 16 which has an opening therethrough for the passage of an electric cable 17. This housing or casing has removable end walls 18 to allow access to the interior of the device.

Mounted in this housing there is a lamp box 19.- This is indicated as being supported by brackets 20 and 21 and a frame 22 from the inside wall of the housing. This lamp box has a bottom wall 23, a top wall 24, a wide end wall 25 with lamps 26 mounted thereon, and a narrow end wall 27, with side walls 28, and is provided for three lamp construction with interior partitions 29. The large end walls 25 areprovided with openings 30 and 31 in which are fitted the colored glasses 32 and 33. Outside of these glasses there is a cage construction 34 having an insulating plate 35 thereon and a plurality of lamp bulb holders 36. Each of these holders supports an electric lamp 37, the lamps being enclosed in a tubular cover 38, this tubular cover extending from the insulating plate 35 to the glasses 32 i or 33 and confining the light of the lamps so that it can only be projected through the.

glass plates. It is obvious that, if desired; the lamp bulbs themselves can be colored the desired color, for instance, the red and the blue, but it is desirable to use colored glass plates as these will then be uniform and replacements of'burnt out bulbs will not affect the quality of the light.

Either of the glasses 32 or 33 may be red or blue but for convenience, the blue glass is indicated at 32 and the red at 33, this simplifying the wiring, and thus it will be seen that there is one blue and one red bulb shining in each of the light compartments 39. These compartments have walls which are light absorbing and may be covered with velvet or a dull black paint or any suitable material to absorb light. The light from each of the bulbs shines toward the small end 27 of the lampbox and this end has an opening in which there is placed, preferably, a milky colored opalescent glass 41, and outside of this ground glass 42 with the ground side 43 inwardly, and between these two glasses and against the ground glass face there is anv opaque covering 44 preferably made of paper, and this paper has an opening for each pair of lamps, such openings being designated at 45 and indicated of a star shape. It will thus be seen that the light from two lamp bulbs is projected on the opalescent glass 41, strikes I the opaque cover 44, and may shine through the opening 45, and to give a further diffusion of light the ground glass is preferably employed.

For conveniences of observation and to prevent exterior light from entering the dark compartments of the lightbox and thus to prevent absorption of the faint colored lights and changes of such lights, I preferably employ a reflector 46 which is illustrated as a mirror and is mounted at the end-of the frame 22, preferably adjacent the curved end 47 of the housing. The light from this reflector passes through an observation opening 48 1n the end 15 of the casing and to further darken the construction I employ an eye piece 49 hav ing walls 50 and a rubber padding rim 51,

this being shaped somewhat to accommodate the contour of a persons forehead and the part of th e face below the eyes and nose and thus, to a greater extent, obscure the external light from entering the device.

In order to accommodate the wiring a conduit structure 52 is built on the inner wall 13 of the casing and prevents wires fr In getting into the path of light. This path ppftslight is indicated as being from the red lig r on the axial line 53 and from the blue lights on the axial line 54. As both of these lights shine on the opalescent glass and on the groundglass cover 42 they merge and form'a com posite color which is observable through the opening. glasses, may be considered as following the The light, after passing theseleads and 61 between each of the red lamps 1, 2, and 3, and leads 62 and 63 between each of the blue lamps 1, 2, and 3. The battery cells are designated by the letter C 1, 2, 3.

Thereis a lead 64 from one of the battery terminals and connecting to the red and the blue series of lamps, and another lead 65 from the opposite terminal or pole of the battery to the same series. This places the red and the'blue lamps each set in series and the two sets in parallel with the battery as a whole. There are two additional leads from the bat .tery, .'66 and 67 and these are connected between the first and the second cells,- and the I second and third-cells, and form a connection with the leads 62 and 63 between the blue lamps 1 and 2, and2 and 3.

Presuming abattery is operating normally and each cell developstwo volts, there will be six volts between the poles of the battery. The bulbs are preferably chosen so that with the cell operating normally these are not receiving their full illuminating voltage and, therefore, do not glow with their maximum brilliance. There is, however, with the battery operating normally, sufficient energy applied to each of the bulbs to produce a distinct red color from the red" bulbs and a dis tinct blue color from the blue bulbs, and the resultant of these colors gives a pinkish color and, therefore, the observer notes the three stars all of a pinkish-color and of the same intensity. i

A'load on the battery is indicated by the leads 68 with a resistance 69 indicated therein and connected between the opposite poles of the battery. In this condition, if. the battery is normal and the external circuit is normal the lights still retain the pinkish color. The observersoon learns the normal color for a correctly operating battery.

If, for any reason, the battery'or any one of the cells, either with or without a load, is not working properly the amount of current will be decreased and, hence, the illumination of all the lamps is decreased in intensity, causing the red lamps to take on a deeper, redder tone and the filaments of the blue bulbs also to be decreased in their incandescence and lessening the blue rays emitted. These blue rays may be lowered to such an intensity that no blue light at all will pass through the blue glass and only the light of the red bulbs will color are developed through the relative inbe observable. This gives a red color to the of an automobile or to other devices operated stars and shows the operator that there is by the battery.

something wrong with the battery as a whole In order that a battery service man may beor with any ind vidual cell which may show come readily informed of the different a particularly deep red color. It is to be changes of color of the different stars for difborne in.=fi1in d that the different shades of ferent conditions of the battery, I distribute descriptive literature giving approximate tensity of illumination of the different lamp colors with a written statement of conditions bulbs and to the factor of the absorption and which show. In addition, for the purposes transmission of light of different wave of showing customers some of the main charlengths through the red and the blue glasses acteristics, I place a chart on the end 15 of the respectively.

Some of the instances and conditions which may affect a battery and be noted with my luminous indicator is indicated in Figs.

.8, 9, 10, and 11. For instance: in Fig. 8 it is presumed that cell 1 is inoperative and, hence, only cells 2 and 3, which are presumed to be of two volts each, supply the energy for illuminating all of the lamps. For convenience, the stars are designated S1, 2, and 3, corresponding to the pairs of bulbs red 1 and blue 1, red 2and blue 2, red 3 and blue 3, and the star 1 in this case without a load will indicate a dark color with a reddish tinge,and with a load a bright blue color.

In Fig. 9 it is presumed that the center cell is inoperative and, hence, the energy of the battery is being supplied by cell 1 and cell 3. In this case star 2 receiving its light from red 2 and blue 2 has a bright blue color with a load and a dark color with a red tinge with no load.

scasing and thus indicate to them some of the main characteristics observable with my luminous indicator.

Referring to the adjustable connector designated generally by the numeral 75, this comprises two clamp legs 7 6 formed of straps 77 having hook shaped prongs 78 at the lower end and being secured to an insulating strip 79 at the top by a rivet, this insulating one leg from the other, and from each of these legs there is an electric lead 80 enclosed in insulating material. There are two pairs of these legs and these have a flexible connecting,

strip 81 which fits underneath the outside insulating hood 82, and the purpose of this is to prevent an operator from twistin the ends and making wrong connections. is illustrated in Fig. 1, the legs connected to the battery terminals on the opposite poles of the battery are connected to the leads 64 and 65, deslgnated in Fig. 7, and the legs connected to the conducting straps of the battery are In Fig. 10 it is presumed that cell 2 has been connected to the leads 66 and 67 of the same wrongly assembled so that its polarity is incorrect and in this case the cells may be considered as operating one against the other, one cell neutralizing the other. This gives the effect of a blue tone from each of the stars with or without a load.

Fig. 11 indicates another condition in which there is an abnormal internal resistance indicated at 7 0 in cell 2 which may be considered as reducing this to an output of one volt. It will, therefore, be seen that there is a total w change of voltage for the whole battery which is indicated by a change in the 'color of the resultant lights of the diiferent stars.

' These diagrams are only illustrative of a few of many conditions which may occur in a battery and which can be indicated by dif:

. external circuits. It is advisable to place the connectors of a preferred type, as hereinunder detailed, across the poles of the battery and then make another test across the connectors, as, frequently, high resistance is set up by corrosion between the battery posts and the connector. Then by employing an external cable connect-ions may be made to the starter switch Myinvention is adapted to a three color system as well as a two color and for this purpose I have illustrated an additional lamp housing 85 in Fig. 2 in which if the other lamps employ blue and red light filters, this preferably has yellow, indicated at 86. Thus for each cell I have the combination of red, yellow, and blue lights. These are indicated in Fig. 12 as R1, 2, and 3 for the red; Y1, 2,.and 3 for the yellow; and B1, 2, and -3 for the blue. In this instance the reds, blues, and yellows are arranged each in series having the leads 87, 88, and 89, and the three separate sets in parallel between the terminals of the battery having the leads 90, 91. The center wiring is somewhat similar to that of Fig. 7 having the leads 92 and 93 between the cells. Thus by'theinterconnection of the leads 88, 89, 92 and 93 the yellow and the blue lamps are connected between the individualcells.

In the arrangement and wiring of Fig. 13

7 the red set of lamps are in the leads 94, the

blue lamps have the leads 95, and the yellows the leads 96. The battery terminal connections are by the leads 97 and 98 and the intermediate cell connections have-the leads 99 and z, .100. With this arrangement I preferably employ double throw switches 101 which may be conveniently arranged for the three circuits, and by this arrangement the blue lamps may be put in a series connection and in parallel with the red lamps, or the switches may be operated to connect with the yellow lamps and thus place the yellow and blue lamps for each cell in series, and this series in parallel with the red lamps. The switch mounting u for this wiring is indicated at 102 in Figs. 1. and 3. Any suitable switch may be employed that will give the two way operation for the three lines.

In the construction of Fig. 12 I find it of so advantage to have the resistance of the red and blue lamps substantially the same and the resistance of the yellow lamps materially higher. In fact, the resistance of the yellow may be equal to that of the reds and the blues. In the construction of Fig. 13 it is of advantage to have the yellow lamps with the least resistance, the blues of the next higher resistance and the reds of the highest resistance so that the yellows will act as a ballast a0 resistance for the blues and at low voltage.

there would be substantially no yellow light but the blue lamps would be illuminated, and at higher voltages the color of the yellow lights would be apparent. Under normal '5 conditions of a normal battery with the lights illuminated, but not to their full brilliancy, I'obtain with the three colors and the arrangement of Fig. 13. substantially a white or a yellow tinged slightly with green, and with the three color system the changes of color for any individual cell or for the lights as a whole gives a more marked difierence than when only the blues and the-reds are used.

- In order to prevent errors in determining disorders in the batteries pf circuits the stars have designating numerals such as 1, 2, and 3, and the harness for attachment to the cell also has numerals on the legs 76 to correspond. For instance, one of the legs connecting to a battery pole would be numbered 1 and the other connectin to the opposite battery pole would be 3, and the legs connect- 'ing to the intermediate cell would be numbered 2. Therefore, by noting the manner in which the harness is attached to the battery the observer may readily determine which cell is out of the proper condition.

It will be noted by my construction, and I find it convenient to designate the lights of each color as being a series of lights and the lights for each cell forming a bank of lights and, in accordance with the construction used, the lights from the individual banks are maintained separately from each other.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim: I

1. A method of indicating conditions of an electric circuit, comprising illuminating a plurality of sources of light by electric current through such circuit, such illuminations having difi'erent colors, and determining by the comparison of colors a difference between a normal and an abnormal condition.

2. A method of indicating conditions of an electric circuit, comprising causing an illumination of different colors by current through the circuit, merging the lights of the different colors, and distinguishing by the merged light the difierence between a normal and an abnormal condition in the circuit.

3. A method of indicating conditions of an electric circuit, comprising illuminating a plurality of sources of light by current from the circuit, filtering certain colors from such lights to give a different color from-each nation, and distinguishing by the resultant colors the difference between a normal and an abnormal condition of the circuit;

fl. A method of indicating conditions of an electric circuit, comprising illuminating a plurality of incandescent sources of'light by current through such circuit, filtering different colors out of the light transmitted from such incandescent sources and thereby transmitting lights of different colors, merging such colors, and distinguishing by the resultant color adiflerence between a normal and an abnormal condition of the circuit.

5. A method of indicating conditions of an electric circuit, comprising energizing two sources of light to varied degrees of intensity of illumination, filtering substantially all except the red rays from one source and substantially all except the blue rays from another source, merging the resultant colors, and determining by such merged color the difference between a normal and an abnormal conditionof the circuit. I

6. A method of indicating conditions of an electric circuit as claimed in claim 5, illuminating a third source of light by the circuit and filtering out substantiallyall except the yellow color and merging the yellow with the red and the blue, and determining by the resultant color the difierence between a normal and an abnormal condition of the circuit.

7. A luminous indicator comprising means to form an electric circuit with an electrical apparatus, a plurality of incandescent lamps in said means, a different color filter for each lamp, the colors transmitted being utilized to determine the diiference between a normal and an abnormal condition of the apparatus. 8. A luminous indicator comprising means source depending on the intensity of illumito form an electric circuit with an electrical apparatus, a plurality of incandescent electric lamps in the said means, a different color filter for each lamp, means to merge the colors from each lamp, and means to observe the merged colors for determining the difference between a normal and an abnormal condition of the circuit.

9. A luminous indicator for electrical apparatus, comprising an electric circuit connectible to said apparatus and having a plurality of banks of incandescent lamps, each bank having different light filters for each lamp, means to merge the resultant light from each bank, and means to observe the merged light to determine the difference between electric circuits developed in different parts of such apparatus.

10. A luminous indicator-for electrical apparatus, comprising a plurality of electric lamps arranged in two sets, each set having different color filters, means to connect each set in series and the two sets in parallel with two different points of an electrical apparatus, additional electrical connections to connect the lamps of one of the series between intermediate parts of the electrical apparatus, means to confine the resulting light whereby there are a plurality of banks of light composed of a light from each of the series, means to merge the resultant colors of each bank, and means to observe such resultant colors to determine the difference between a normal and an abnormal condition of different'portions of the electrical apparatus.

11. A luminous indicator for electrical apparatus as claimed in claimlO, a third set of lights, there being one for each bank and having a color filter different from the color filter of the first two sets, and an electrical connection for the third set placing this in parallel with the first and second set, and with intermediate connections for the lamps of the third set.

12. A luminous indicator for electrical apparatus, comprising a plurality of electric lamps arranged in three sets, each set having different color filters,cmeans to connect each set in series and the three sets in parallel with two different points of an electrical apparatus, additional electrical connections to connect the Ir 'nps of at least two of the sets between intermediate parts of the elec-- trical apparatus, the lights being arranged in banks of three different colors, means to confine the lights from each bank from the other, means to merge the lights from each of the banks, and means to observe the resulting color to determine the difference between a normal and an abnormal condition of different portions of anelectrical apparatus.

13. A luminous indicator for electrical apparatus as claimed in claim 12, a variable electrical connection whereby the two sets of lamps connected to the intermediate parts of the apparatus may be connected in series for each bank or only one of such lights of each bank energized.

14. A luminous indicator for electrical apparatus, comprising a first, second, and third set oflamps, the first set having a red filter,

to observe the resultant color to determine the difference between a normaland an abnormal condition of different portions of the electrical apparatus.

.15. A luminous indicator for electrical apparatus as claimed in claim 14, a harness suitable for attachment to a storage battery comprising a plurality of clamping legs, said legs being conductors with jaws for attachment to conducting elements of a battery, and electric wiring from the legs connected to the different lights.

'16. Ina luminous indicator for electrical apparatus, a harness suitable for attachment to a storage battery comprising two pairs of conducting legs, the legs of each pair being insulated one from the other, each leg having a jaw to engage a conducting terminal or post of a battery or of a cell of such battery, an electric lead from each of the legs, and means to indicate a reversal of position of the said pairs of legs.

17. In a luminous indicator for electrical apparatus, a structure having a plurality of electric lamps arranged in rows, each row having a color filter, the same for each row but each row being different from the next, partitions separating said' lamps into banks whereby each bank transmits a plurality of colors, means to merge the various colors of each bank together into a composite color, means to allow observation of such composite color, and means adapted for the connection of electric leads to said lamps.

18. In a luminous indicator for electrical apparatus, an enclosing casing having a box like structure therein with a plurality of series of electric lamps, each series having a d stinctive light filter, the light filters for each series being different, partitions separating the path of the projection of light whereby a plurality of banks of lights are established, each bank having a color corresponding to the light filters, a diilusing glass for merging the different colors of each ave ma bank, an eye piece connected to the casing positioned to permit observation of the illuminateddifi'using glass for each of the banks of lamps.

19. In a' luminous indicator for electrical apparatus, comprising in combination an enclosing casing having a box-like structure therein, the said structure having a plurality of series of electric lamps arranged in rows, each series havin a distinctive light filter, the colors of the ters being different, partitions separating the path of projection of light from the lamps into banks of a plurality of lamps, a diffusing glass for each bank, the lamps being positioned to project light on to said glass a reflector, an eye piece, the eye piece and the reflector being positioned to permit observation of the merged colors from the diiferent banks of lamps.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

IRVEN E. COFFEY. 

